North Augusta, South Carolina

Area Profile

25,653 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for North Augusta, in Aiken County.

75out of 100
Area Score
Top 4% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
OpportunityTop 1% of 4,199 cities measured87
SchoolsTop 38% of 4,162 cities measured59
GrowthTop 18% of 4,224 cities measured67
Housing affordabilityTop 4% of 4,218 cities measured87
ClimateTop 46% of 4,225 cities measured71
Physical resilienceTop 39% of 4,226 cities measured68
AccessTop 32% of 4,226 cities measured96
Economic stability2,219th of 4,226 cities measured57
The quick read

North Augusta ranks in the top 1% of cities measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.0% and median household income of $86,092.

In the public schools here, 59% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 16.0 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 279 units authorized over the past twelve months, 65% below the prior year.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
25,653
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$86,092
Top 28% nationally
Density
1,199/sq mi
21.4 sq mi of land
Median age
42.3
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
South Carolina
Nearest major airport
AGS
11 mi · Augusta Rgnl At Bush Fld
Median home value
$233,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.0%, lower than in 93% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment grew 2.5% over the past year, to 13,180 employed residents.

37% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 78% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsAiken County, SC’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$69,07844th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftAiken County, SC’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$63,66332nd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$8,5792024 ACS 5-Year$86,092Top 28%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,8112024 ACS 5-Year$48,483Top 19%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year6.6%Top 32%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year23.9 minTop 35%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year36.7%Top 22%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year82.2%67th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202613,180Bottom 8%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+6.5%Top 3%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+2.5%Top 6%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202613,5918th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year81.2%Top 39%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageAugusta-Richmond County, GA-SC Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$60,020Bottom 15%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageAugusta-Richmond County, GA-SC Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$45,990Bottom 9%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%74th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.7%Top 19%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.0%Top 7%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year11.2%65th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2022/012023/012024/012025/012026/074.61.6
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.0% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2022-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202490k72k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $86,092 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers8,710$26,620
Retail Salespersons6,930$29,350
Registered Nurses6,880$87,760
Cashiers6,040$28,310
General and Operations Managers4,230$102,360
Home Health and Personal Care Aides3,920$28,730

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

59% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 60% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 16.0 students for every full-time teacher across 11 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
11
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
16.0
across all schools here
Math proficiency
58.9%
Top 34% in South Carolina
Reading proficiency
60.3%
Top 43% in South Carolina
All 11 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
North Augusta HighAiken 011,64517.779%80%
Merriwether ElementaryEdgefield 0176014.141%47%
Hammond Hill ElementaryAiken 0170615.064%59%
Mossy Creek ElementaryAiken 0170014.948%43%
Fox Creek High · charterSC Public Charter School District67216.072%87%
Belvedere ElementaryAiken 0161714.063%54%
North Augusta ElementaryAiken 0161014.260%55%
Paul Knox MiddleAiken 0157318.542%48%
Highland Springs MiddleAiken 0153419.1——
North Augusta MiddleAiken 0149218.935%45%
Merriwether MiddleEdgefield 0136514.642%45%

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against South Carolina’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 9% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 91.2, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC Metro Area is up 49% over five years, and up 5.0% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,249 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.53% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,187, close to the $1,169 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,187 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $47,500 a year, about 55% of the median household income here of $86,092.

The typical renter household here spends 24% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,169 a month.

A median home at $233,600 costs 2.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $102,163, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
91.2

Prices here run about 9% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
23.7%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.3×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,187
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,169
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$233,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against North Augusta’s median household income of $86,092, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC Metro Area’s figure202391.2Top 10%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+5.0%78th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+49.2%76th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+102.5%67th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.3Top 43%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year70.5%39th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4872024 ACS 5-Year12,74595th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,046Top 26%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,529Top 19%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,187Top 20%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$632024 ACS 5-Year$1,169Bottom 34%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$9,1232024 ACS 5-Year$233,60061st percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$892024 ACS 5-Year$1,24932nd percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$10,2782024 ACS 5-Year$102,163Top 26%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.04%2024 ACS 5-Year0.53%14th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year23.7%Top 27%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1432024 ACS 5-Year14092nd percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.1%63rd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year11.3%68th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3732024 ACS 5-Year1,57797th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

67/ 100
Top 18% of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was broadly flat, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 8% since 2020, reaching 26,395 in 2024.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 26,395 residents in 2024, up 2.0% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 279 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Aiken County, which contains North Augusta, gained about 1.2% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $69,078, above the $63,663 of households that moved out.

At 10.9 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
279
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
10.9
Top 10% nationally
Year over year
−65%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202426k24k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+1.2%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
71%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$69,078
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$63,663
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Richmond County, GA 1,211 people · 13% of arrivals
  2. Columbia County, GA 587 people · 6.5% of arrivals
  3. Edgefield County, SC 523 people · 5.8% of arrivals
  4. Lexington County, SC 445 people · 5.0% of arrivals
  5. Barnwell County, SC 308 people · 3.4% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Richmond County, GA 1,001 people · 14% of departures
  2. Edgefield County, SC 709 people · 9.7% of departures
  3. Columbia County, GA 451 people · 6.2% of departures
  4. Lexington County, SC 380 people · 5.2% of departures
  5. Richland County, SC 251 people · 3.4% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Aiken County, SC. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202020212022202320242025518209
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+147%).

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 94°F and January a low of 40°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 44.8 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 39, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station AUGUSTA DANIEL FLD AP, 6.1 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.0"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year512024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals44.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals40°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals94°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year392024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals35°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
39
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
51
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

68 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hurricane and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 47% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Ice stormModerate
HurricaneElevated
EarthquakeElevated
LightningModerate
TornadoModerate
LandslideModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, wildfire, inland flooding, hail, strong wind, cold wave, drought, winter weather, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
149
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,543
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

North Augusta's police department reported 149 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,543.

Aiken County records 8.5 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 18.1 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 30.5 per 100,000 residents in Aiken County.

Homicide
8.5
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
18.1
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
30.5
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
15.8
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by North Augusta’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around North Augusta (Aiken County) rather than North Augusta itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Augusta Rgnl At Bush Fld at 11 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year95.2%Top 24%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle11 miTop 29%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 20%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year3.4%Top 27%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Augusta Rgnl At Bush FldAGS11 mi8,001 ft
Columbia MetroCAE56 mi8,601 ft
Donaldson FldGYH89 mi8,000 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Other cities in Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
Augusta-Richmond CountyRichmond County201,52858Augusta-Richmond County vs North Augusta
EvansColumbia County36,99875Evans vs North Augusta
MartinezColumbia County33,75071Martinez vs North Augusta
AikenAiken County32,52163
GrovetownColumbia County17,01472

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put North Augusta side by side with a similar place.

North Augusta vs MauldinNorth Augusta vs Greer

Moving to North Augusta from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in North Augusta

2 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in North Augusta with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
2984132,342$71,606$199,40072
2986018,201$97,268$275,60074